Kukup trip

Last weekend I went to Kukup with my Malacca friends. They planned this trip a few weeks ago. I actually didn’t know the existence of such a place until they told me.

Kukup is a small fishing village located about 40 kilometres southwest of Johor Bahru, in the district of Pontian, Johor, on the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia. We drove to Pontian Kecil town through Muar and Batu Pahat and proceeded to south direction for about 20 km before reaching Kukup town. (We also stopped at Muar to buy Otak-Otak). From there we boarded a ferry to the pre-booked resort 东海饭店。



Our trip there was actually organized by东海饭店 which liaises with a restaurant to provide us two lunch sets. The restaurant served their famous delicacies like crab, fish and prawn. But when I personally asked the boss-in-charged, he mentioned that nowadays most of the seafood is imported from Indonesia. I guessed it’s because the Kukup area has already been polluted! To know the main source of pollution, continue reading the article.





Almost all the houses and seafood restaurants are built on stilts over the water. Some of the restaurants are geared for tour groups such as Singapore tourists. I saw many young Singaporeans during my stay at Kukup.

Another extraordinary thing is that the main transportation at the village is either bicycle or motorcycle. As you can imagine, the narrow road is made from concrete that are piled on swamp thus cannot sustain the weight of a car.

The villages here give the visitors a warm welcome. Here we enjoyed a feeling of relaxation and tranquillity. Of course since the village is built on the water, the sole thing we could do was to enjoy the sea breeze and the wave.

The resort was air-conditioned rooms were clean and comfortable. We were also provided with Mahjong sets and Karaoke for our entertainment. We spent the soothing night by playing cards, Mahjong, chitchatting and singing.




On our second day there, we were brought to the largest mangrove swamp island in the world, the " Pulau Kukup Johor National Park ". Here we climbed up to the observatory tower and walked the hanging bridge.






Then, we took a trip to the nearby kelong to see many types of fish and other seafood that are bred in captivity, including the king crab. Kelongs are actually farms built on raft-like structures floating in the middle of the ocean.




Let the cat out of the bag. The main source of pollution is human waste. There are no pipes, sewers and sewage treatment plants. The toilets and bathrooms are well built but the waste is actually disposed directly into the sea. From the hole of the toilet bowl you can actually see the sea below. Frankly speaking, I felt guilty when my shampoo water dripped into the sea during bath and when I had to throw tissue paper into the sea :(

The second source of pollution --- the rubbish thrown away to sea by the villagers and visitors. I saw an auntie effortlessly threw a plastic bag to sea!

I can’t declare myself as an environmentalist but I actually feel the urge to tell everybody to take care of the environment! Also, there is a need for efficient and hygienic disposal system and sewage plant at the village. Hope that the local authority could notice the problem and solve it before the village turns into a contaminated area.

Nevertheless, this is a fruitful trip as I could meet my old friends from Malacca again after ten years of separation.